Anniversary Surprise

Our 6-year anniversary was on Friday, May 28th. We were headed to Austin that day and decided to go ahead and take a pregnancy test (for a few reasons - no need to explain). I just knew that we were wasting a stick and I was about to say to Josh, "Why are we doing this? It's going to be negative." Well, I was wrong. We were looking at the stick together when it said "Pregnant." We were in shock, laughed, smiled and laughed some more. I thought there would be tears of joy, but I think I was just so surprised to see that it said Pregnant, that tears were nowhere to be found, just laughter! It was a fun experience and we couldn't be more excited. We told both of our families the next weekend:

My family, Friday 6/4
Josh writes Roses are Red poems each time we get one of my family members a card. We had made a joke a while ago that we should start keeping all of them b/c they're so silly. So, when we were all in my parent's living room, Josh said he decided to start a book of his poems and wanted to share a new one with everyone. The best part of this was that my mom started getting out all of her cards so we could read some of the old ones. So Josh read the poem and it ended with something like "and something's growing inside Jamie's belly." Casey just knew it right when Josh said he wanted to share a poem, so she had a big grin on her face while he was reading it. I was so relieved to have finally been able to tell them. I really hadn't been sleeping that week and I think that's why. We definitely shed some tears after the news was revealed.

Josh's parents, Saturday 6/5
The next night, we had already planned on going to dinner with Josh's parents. They came over to our house to pick us up and I asked them to come inside. Josh was in our room with Dixie and I lied and said he was still getting ready. (That's usually the case, so nothing abnormal there.) So Josh came out with Dixie and we had put this shirt on her:

















And here's the reaction Josh got on our camera (I LOVE this! It makes me tear up every time I watch it.):



Mimi, Sunday 6/6
Mimi (Josh's mom's mom) is our only grandparent left. She has been the one who's been giving us the most [loving] pressure besides my sister. All of her friends are great grandparents and she wanted to join in the fun! We went with Josh's parents to meet Mimi and Bill, her husband, for dinner at a small town TX bbq place. Keith and Tami had been planning on meeting them at this restaurant for a while so they just told Mimi that we were going to come along as well. We had written a card to Mimi in the car and after we had been at the restaurant for a while, Keith "went to the bathroom" to give a waitress the card to bring over to Mimi. After a few minutes went by, the waitress came over to Mimi and said, "Ma'am, are you Wanda Brown?" Mimi said, "Why yes I am." Waitress said, "Well this card is for you." Mimi looked around thinking someone there knew who she was; after all, she knows a lot of people. She opened the card and began to read. It said: "Congratulations lucky lady! You've been selected to be a great grandmother..." That's about as far as she got before she threw her head down on the table and proceeded to sob. She didn't move for about 3 minutes, and the whole time, sweet Bill is just laughing not knowing what is going on. I don't remember what the rest of the card said, but she finally finished reading it. I will NEVER forget that moment and am so glad that we were able to tell her in person with Keith and Tami.

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Today marks 12 weeks, 5 days - we are due January 27, 2011. I am exactly 7 weeks behind Casey, so that has been a lot of fun and I am so glad I get to share this with her - plus our first kid and her 2nd kid will be so close in age. But, I can't borrow her maternity clothes so that's a bummer. Maybe she'll be a kind, selfless sister and still give me some of them.

I only had morning sickness in between weeks 6 and 7. After week 7 passed, I experienced some back pain for a couple of weeks and now I'm getting headaches here and there. Not complaining though...I feel very fortunate for what I experienced in the first trimester. I am able to workout and run still, although I can tell I don't have as much energy.

Baby Womack was in support of the NBA preseason and Dirk resigning with the Mavs yesterday, so "it" asked me to wear my t-shirt.



















We thought we were going to use Dixie in each week's picture but we don't want to have to put her through the index card taped to the rope in her mouth each time. She looks so small in this picture, but that's b/c she's not sitting like a lady as her daddy told her to.

Baby Womack: we are so thrilled to meet you and learn of your sex in September! We pray that you are healthy and that you are nice to me in there!

The Garden of Womack's

My little gardener Josh has done an amazing job with our vegetable garden. He built it himself which saved us a lot of $$. He bought all of the supplies and plants for less than what our local nursery was selling the garden kit for. We planted strawberries, green and purple bell peppers, banana peppers, okra, rosemary and parsley. Here's an update on each plant:

1. Strawberries: Probably my favorite of everything we planted, but those little rabbits or possums get to them before we do! They've grown to a fairly good size multiple times and were bright red, but we didn't think they were ready to pick yet. So those rascals picked em before we were able to.
2. Banana peppers: I thought these were the hot ones like pepperoncinis, but they're not, and neither one of us like them. They'll probably be replaced with garlic or onions.
3. Bell peppers: Josh thought he got yellow and purple, but looks like they're green and purple. They are pretty tasty and our neighbor was able to use them in a salad for our Supper Club.
4. Rosemary: This is our 2nd rosemary plant (we have another one planted close to it), so I haven't used any from the garden to cook with yet.
5. Parsley: We haven't used this, but once it gets cold again and I make my grandma's spaghetti and meatballs or stuffed shells, I will definitely cut some off to cook with.
6. Okra: These babies are taking over our Japanese maple. We pick about 2-4 every week and I've been freezing them so I can make Mimi's (Josh's grandma) fried okra for our next Supper Club. Can't wait to attempt that.

Below are some pics of the progress and some of the pickens:

Day 1












Dixie's approval












Day 102 (very recent)












Banana peppers and okra












Bell peppers and okra

Ethan James Floyd

Liz and I threw a baby shower for our long-time friend, Jessica Lynn Forrest Floyd, at Liz's house on June 12th. Jessica is due September 22 and is having a boy, Ethan James - LOVE that name! She's going to be a fantastic mother and we are going to miss her after she moves to Boston next month.
















































Hi KTB and Lauren and Donna and my mom!












Jessica shows very little emotion.












This was Liz's favorite picture of herself, so I told her I'd be sure to include it.

6th Year Anniversary

For our 6 year and Memorial Day, we traveled to Austin, TX to visit our teammates, Gretchen and Aaron. We had dinner on South Congress, went kayaking, went to a wildflower center, cooked out, and hung out. Of course, we had a great time, but I think Dixie had more fun playing with her cousins. We took very little pics, but wanted to share some of them from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

"Artsy Aaron" - this one worked. You should have seen the others.

















Typical - we always like to make fun of statues that I'm sure cost a lot and took a long time to make.













Josh loves to pet fake animals.










































Gretchen, the head.

Overdue Past Weekend Recap

Friday night: did nothing b/c I had a race in the morning, so I ate my pasta and went to bed. Sounds like fun, right?!

Saturday morning: ran in the Triumph Over Pain 10k race at Cooper Fitness Center in McKinney. Liz ran too, but wasn't feeling well, so she completed the 5k. It was great weather, except it was really windy. So at about mile 3.5, I started running up a steady incline into the wind for about a half mile. That was the hardest part. Other than that, I really enjoyed the course (was new to me) and beat my time from the last 10k. A highlight for me was seeing Tracey Yukich, a contestant from Season 8 of The Biggest Loser.

Saturday night: Amanda Aulds's wedding. It was such a beautiful day at the Arboretum and she looked amazing. It was so good to catch up with friends from not only high school but also college (shout out to Stacey and Jenni who will read this!). We really had a great time and will always remember it. It was also very surreal that there were 2 past presidents there and their wives. What an experience that was! After the wedding, Josh and I really wanted to shake W's hand, so as he and Laura were making their rounds, we just stuck out our hand and met him. We both haven't washed our hand since then. Here are some pictures - we didn't take enough.

CHS Class of 2000 Officers.















Hi Chi O table and beautiful lake.















Oh Amanda, not looking at the camera, but glowing!















My Leah!















My Joshy!















This group makes me giggle.















Sunday: we went to church with my mom, had brunch at my parent's house with my extended family, and met Case and Noah at PF Chang's in Allen for an early dinner. This is not a very good pic, but I just love that little stinker bean, Noah! Can't wait for her to pop out another one just like him...unless it's a girl of course.

Two Kids Home Alone

Dixie and me, just chillin', eating, hanging out...but we are both kind of bummed. The most important piece of our little family is not here to direct the show. Jamie is on a late night photo shoot for one of Infinitude's larger clients. The shoot takes place in a grocery store, so it has to be done at night, from roughly 10pm - 2am, when there are no customers roaming around.

I am so proud of her and wanted to take a few minutes to tell her that. She really does keep this little house operating as well as it can. The inside is kept spotless, things are organized, clutter and 'stuff' is minimized (very liberating, you should try it), food is stocked, food is prepared, laundry is washed...and the list goes on and on and on. On top off all that, she busts her tail at work and is amazing at what she does. I am so proud of her I could bust!!

Thank you for being the most awesome, amazing, and giving wife in the whole wide world. I love you babe!!

Rain or Shine

Tomorrow, come rain or shine, Liz and I are running in a race called Run for Cover. It's a 10K (6.2 mile) race put on by McKinney Fellowship Bible Church that benefits The Samaritan Inn. After I realized that this race benefitted The Samaritan Inn, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

For my company's 2009 Christmas gift to our clients and partners, we gave them tins of cookies that The Samaritan Inn made and packaged. I was able to go to the Inn in McKinney to pick up the tins - it is Collin County's only homeless shelter. They are completely funded by donations made by churches, service organizations, corporations and individuals. Last year, they had 660 residents and out of those people, 30% were children and over 72% graduated from their program - which means they had an income and housing when they left The Samaritan Inn.

Currently, there are 107 people living at The Inn and 35 are children. I've been getting reminder emails about the race that includes a story about current residents. I wanted to share this one with you:

This week we would like to tell you about 20 year old Samantha. Samantha, like many of our residents, did not have any specific education or training that would enable her to make more than minimum wage, and minimum wage is not a living wage.

At about the same time Samantha came to the Inn, we received information that Richland College had created a unique Machine Operator Training Program. Workforce of Dallas funded the cost of the training for qualified participants between the ages of 18 and 21 and John Trick, our Vocational Coordinator, thought Samantha would be a good candidate. Samantha attended the 12 week program (The Samaritan Inn paid for her transportation and materials), and she graduated at the top of her class.

She was hired almost immediately by the company where she did her on-site work during the program, and the president of the company wrote us the following note:
"Samantha is doing great! She is here on time, stays with her assignments until completed and does whatever we ask with the same level of enthusiasm. Don't know where she got her work ethic, but she certainly has one. Thanks for sending her our way!"

We are very proud of Samantha, and as John Trick wrote in his update, "This young lady now has the means for a self-sufficient life that will never include a homeless shelter again."